This list contains some suggestions for projects you might undertake in IT9. Some of the ideas are vague ones, while others are more specific. The whole point of this list of projects is to give you ideas--because all you really have to do to get a good grade in IT9 is to prove you can meet all the Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLOs) at a grade 9 level. I suggest that you read the PLOs, read the list of ideas below, and see what you can do to cover as many PLOs as possible with projects that interest you.
Keep in mind:
You should be handing in about one IT project a month (give or take). I only get picky close to term-end--I really need to have two marks for you by the end of term one, three more by the end of term two, and so on. If you choose to work on one huge mega-project, that's fine--but clear it with me first!
I have been known to give bonus points to projects that are actually used in the real world. So, if your Dad's pizza place actually uses your radio ad...let me know!
You must show that you meet ALL the PLOs for the course by the end of June. Otherwise, no matter how excellent your work, I can't give you a passing grade. That would be a shame. So stay organized! That's why I ask which PLOs you are trying to meet on your planning form, and which ones you DID meet on your self-assessment (in case I missed something).
You need to stretch yourself and learn something in order to meet some of the PLOs.
You may help others and get help--but there is a difference between "helping" and "doing it for" someone! Please be sure that you are doing your own work, even if someone does give you a hint or get you out of a jam now and then.
Yes, if you are doing a computer-based or technology-based project for another class, we can probably count it for IT as well. (Especially if I teach the other class!) So, for example, if you decide to do a photo essay for your Writers' Workshop in my English class, you may also hand it in as a digital media production for IT. However, you MUST have your other teacher's permission to do this. Some teachers don't like this sort of double-dipping, so ask first!
If you come up with another idea that is not on this list, run it past me. Usually my criteria for a "good project" are:
Does it use technology? (If it uses something other than just the Internet, even BETTER!)
Is it challenging for the student proposing it? Will she learn something?
Will it take at least 8 hours of solid work to complete well?
Could the skills learned in this project transfer over to real life at some point? (Now would be AWESOME)
Is it creative? and
Can it be marked on the IT Project Marking Rubric? (if not, we have to agree on how it'll be marked before you can start)
Project ideas
Here are mine. Remember to add some by coming to me with proposals. If I like them, I'll add them to the list (with your name on them, if you like).
What kinds of information technology are out there? Create a presentation (Prezzi, PowerPoint, MSWord brochure, Photoessay, etc) to show the diversity of information technologies, or all of the information technology you come into contact with in a set period of time (a day, a week).
Imagine that there is a new student in the class who doesn't know anything about computers AT ALL. Design three assignments: one to teach her how to use Microsoft Word, one to teach Microsoft Excel, and one to teach our email program, First Class.
How can technology be used to make school more effective for students (to help them learn more, to study better, or to feel like what they're learning matters)? What technologies do we use at ATSS that are helpful? How could we use them better? What other technologies should we be considering adopting?
Do some research on educational technology and create a presentation that you could use to convince Mr. MacPhail that we need to ask for a budget to purchase a certain technology. Show how it would be used in classrooms and to enhance student learning. How much money would we need? Assume that ATSS has about 550 students and about 50 staff, in case you need to research site license costs. OR
Show how the resources we already have at ATSS could be better used to help students learn and engage in their learning. Be thorough. You might want to do some sort of survey to determine which students think the educational technology needs improvement, or to figure out which teachers are happy with the way things are (or why they haven't adopted new technologies).
Write a program that will administer a test on the basic parts of a computer. Use terms like CPU, keyboard, display screen, monitor, mouse, touchpad, CD/DVD ROM drive, hard drive, flash drive, RAM, modem, scanner, etc.
We use our typing software to learn to touch type. Investigate other freeware (free software) available on the Internet that is created to teach you something, get you organized, or help you build, design or map something. Choose the best example that you can find, and explain why it is better than the others, or create a chart explaining which freeware has which features, so users could make their own decision.
How would you go about getting your ad on the radio? on TV? in the newspaper? on the Internet? Find out. Then, write and produce an ad suitable for each of these media (four ads altogether, though they can be for the same product or service). You can choose to create a public service announcement for each medium (on Internet safety, handwashing, or a charity or cause you believe in, etc) instead.
Create a list of your favorite websites. What makes them so appealing? Is it the subject matter? The activities on the pages? The design? Ask others what websites they prefer and why (you could do a survey, and graph the results) Design your own website to appeal to people like you. How would a website to appeal to an "average" student in the class be the same? Different?
Can we use Twitter as an educational tool? How? Come up with as many ways as you can to make Twitter useful to education. Convince one of your teachers to use it as a teaching tool (let me know who and how).
Make a music video for one of your favorite songs. Make sure the song is appropriate for school! You can film the video yourself, or use clips and photos from the Internet (make sure you credit your sources, including the song!).
There is a phone book (on paper, even) to look up people's phone numbers (and businesses', too), and there is even an online version of this phone book (Canada411, for example). Is there a phone book database for email addresses? For cell phone numbers? If not, why not? Create a database in Microsoft Access that could be used to store people's email addresses and cell phone numbers. Make it easy to use! (Note: this doesn't mean go find an app like this on the Internet--it means program your own!)
Use Microsoft Access to create a database that could be useful to a student your age (verb conjugations in French class, dates in Social Studies, or ???)
Learn about digital photography. Take a series of photographs with a digital camera to illustrate some basic do's and don'ts of digital photography. Make a poster, brochure, or digital presentation (PowerPoint?) that will teach some photography basics. Be sure to credit your sources!
Prepare several flyers in Word or another word processing program to advertise an event taking place at school or in the community. Choose the best one that you have designed and explain why it is better than the rest. Use a photocopier to copy it and distribute copies (get permission from the office before stapling them up in the halls, if you distribute them at school).
Design a newsletter for a school-based group (literary magazine?), church group, youth group, Guide or Scout unit, or another such group. Learn about layout and design for such a newsletter. Produce at least two complete issues of your newsletter and distribute them to the members of the group. Explain why you made the design choices that you did.
Use the Internet to plan a trip (real or imaginary). How will you get to your destination (fly, bus, train, drive)?What will transportation cost? How much will it cost for hotels or accomodation? Food? Entertainment? What will you do while you are there? Will you take the bus from museum to museum? (What does the bus cost?) How much money will you need for shopping? What is the exchange rate? How much money will you have to save to take this trip? Estimate your monthly income (if you don't have a job, think about how much you would earn if you did). How much could you realistically save? How long will it take you to save up for this trip? Use a spreadsheet to list costs in different categories, and to calculate your savings.
Develop your own gradebook for one of your courses in Excel or another spreadsheet program. Keep track of all your assignment marks in it. You could even do it for IT9 :)
Develop an online scavenger hunt to help others improve their computer skills. You could make this on a theme.
Create a WebQuest to teach others something that you know about (or that you are learning about).
Find out about two computer applications that enhance the lives of people with special needs. Why are they needed? Who uses them? What did they do before the technology was available? Alternatively, design a new such computer application and explain how it would help.
Instead of computer applications, find out in detail about two OTHER pieces of technology that are designed to make the lives of people with special needs better. Why are they needed? Who uses them? What did those people do before the technology existed? Alternatively, design a new piece of technology and explain how it would help.
Create a blog and post in it at least once a week for ONE ENTIRE TERM. Use pictures, video clips, music, and elements of good design, where possible. Keep it Internet safe and appropriate for school.
Explain why wikipedia is not a reliable source for research. Create your own wiki on a topic that interests you. (Wikispaces does offer free wikis. My first wiki was a fan site for one of my favorite works of fiction. This one was my second.)
Create a video using a digital camera and some video editing software (Windows Live Movie Maker is on your laptop). You will need to storyboard the plot ahead of time, and add voices (and sound effects) afterward (unless you have a powerful external microphone). The end result should be about 2 minutes long, and almost professional quality. You could choose to make four 30-second commercials instead. (Taking French 9? Your science video would work for this...and I speak French!)
Investigate the free software available to create comics or graphic novels. Using the best of this free software (or ComicLife, which is on your laptop) create a minimum 8-page comic that tells a story. You might want to tie this in to your English, Science, or Social Studies classwork.
Create a how-to video demonstrating step-by-step how to do something you are good at. This could be anything from how to change the oil on a car, to how to make cheese. (Those were the last two things I looked up on YouTube!). OR Create a how-to article about your skill, and include at least five photos. Post it online (perhaps on your blog, see #14, or on the discussion on this wiki).
What is hypertext? Program a short hypertext presentation for another class.
Create a Prezzi for use in another classroom presentation. Don't forget to include embedded photos and video!
Create an online survey about a topic important to you using surveymonkey or a similar program. Then, create charts, graphs spreadsheets etc analysing the results in Microsoft Excel.
Select a large company, such as BC Hydro, BC Ferries, the Royal Bank, etc, and make a list of the occupations in that company. Rank the occupations by how often they use information technology tools; rank them again by how complex the information technology tools are.
Come up with some "information technology trivia" questions. Develop a board game (or an online game) to test your classmates' knowledge of information technology. You could focus on one theme (like Internet safety, or the history of information technology) or have several categories.
Analyse the results of the Canadian teams at the Olympic games over time. Use Microsoft Excel to create charts and graphs. What do you learn from your analysis? Is there something Canada should do to improve our results at Sotchi 2014, or Rio 2016?
Download Storytelling Alice and use it to create an original story (or to do a presentation on one of the other projects...hmmm...)
What does "ergonomics" mean in reference to information technology use? Create a pamphlet for new Grade 9 students at ATSS that will explain how to use their laptop and other information technology ergonomically.
Use the Internet to investigate a current-affairs issue. How is the information presented differently in different newspapers? Look at opinions and articles on the topic from other countries, including English-language newspapers in non-English-speaking countries. Capture, store and examine the information you get. Do papers from other countries report things differently that Canadian papers? What examples of BIAS do you find? What reasoning is used to support the biased arguments? Use some information technology tools to prepare a chart that lists the biased statements and explains why you think they are biased.
Use the online encyclopedia (get the username and password from Mrs. Salter) and other Internet resourches to research how the invention of the printing press impacted people's lives. Then use similar resources to investigate the impact of information technology on today's society. Create a graphical way of presenting the two time periods to the class.
Investigate software that allows you to create and play music through your computer. GarageBand is one such program. Create a complex piece that shows off your knowledge of how to use the program. Be certain that it is your own creation, or that you have complied with all copyright and fair use laws!
Look for some educational podcasts on iTunes. What makes a good podcast? Create your own podcast. Plan and record at least two five-minute 'casts (or a total of 10 minutes or more) on a topic of interest to you. Perhaps you and some study buddies from Math or Foods and Nutrition (or another class) could record podcasts of topics from class. "How to calculate surface area" or "Healthy Eating" might be interesting topics, and the more often you review class notes, the more you remember for tests...
Why do students text? What do students need to know about texting? Consider not only "how to" information, but also "consequences" information! Just as drivers need to pass a written and a practical test before they get a license, imagine that children as young as 10 years old must have a "texting license" before they can have a cell phone. Create that test.
Why are cell phones not allowed in class? Create a list of ways that cell phones can be used to make education better. Create a presentation that will convince Mr. Hildebrand that our school must change its cellphone policy. Remember that it is not enough to say, "My ideas are"--you must also counter the ideas against cell phones in class.
Is it safe to use a credit card or bank card online? Do some research and create a presentation that will explain why it is (or isn't) safe to shop online. Are there ways to be safer? Create a list of tips for potential online shoppers.
Do online ads work? Does anyone pay any attention to them? Now that ads are more personalised than ever, do people pay more attention to them? Do some research and address these questions. What other kinds of personalized advertising do you see coming in the future?
Investigate some of the Internet resources designed to help students of high school age--sites like Khan Academy, ToLearnFrench, StudySpanish, SparkNotes, and at least two others. Which of these sites will help students most? Is there something that they are missing that could help students even more? Are any of these sites encouraging students to cheat or plagiarize? What makes a good "study enhancing" website?
Investigate how to use Google Sketchup, Floorplanner or another such building program. Design your dream home, dream school, or another creative structure (maybe that reproduction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre for English class?).
Create a VIRTUAL MUSEUM to display your learning on a subject--anything really--that you think would benefit from this sort of display. Science topic? Social Studies topic? Just don't forget to cite your sources somewhere!
This list contains some suggestions for projects you might undertake in IT9. Some of the ideas are vague ones, while others are more specific. The whole point of this list of projects is to give you ideas--because all you really have to do to get a good grade in IT9 is to prove you can meet all the Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLOs) at a grade 9 level. I suggest that you read the PLOs, read the list of ideas below, and see what you can do to cover as many PLOs as possible with projects that interest you.
Keep in mind:
Project ideas
Here are mine. Remember to add some by coming to me with proposals. If I like them, I'll add them to the list (with your name on them, if you like).